Left, right and centre, whistleblowers are in trouble. Everywhere you look there is a reprisal or a misunderstanding about the who, the what, or the why of people who make disclosures in the public interest.

Part of the problem is that people in power hate being exposed for their wrong-doing or abuse of authority and so deliberately make life difficult for those who bring their misdemeanours to light. Or worse. In a violent society such as South Africa’s, the life of a whistleblower may even be in peril.